Automatic sprinkler



L. B. STONE.

AUTOMATIC SPRINKLER.

(No Model.)

Patented Sept. 28, 1886.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

LAVSON B. STONE, OF MARBLEI-IEAD, MASSACHUSETTS.

AUTOMATIC SPRINKLER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 349,764, dated September 28, 1886.

Application filed June 7, 1886. Serial No. 201,360. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, LAWSON B. STONE, a citizen of the United States,residing at Marblehead,in the county of Essex and State of Massachusetts, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Automatic Sprinklers; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the'same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to letters or figures of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to automatic thermostatic sprinklers for fire or other purposes, theessential features of which consist, in connection with a suitable liquid-supply pipe and valve leading therefrom, of a hollow closed vessel adapted to contain some volatile fluid or gas. The latter, by expansion due to the influence of heat, causes a temporary relative displacement in the position of one side of said vessel to which the valve-stem is attached, and thereby actuates the valve at certain times, as desired.

In my present invention I have endeavored to render my sprinkler entirely automatic, in contradistinction to such as have been operated by thermostatic influences, which cause the separation of certain parts, thus rendering the apparatus useless until again reset for a repetition of the operation.

One of the primary features consists in the employment with the expansive closed vessel, to befilled with some volatile gas or fluid, of a supply-valve and valve-stem, which latter is attached to and is moved simultaneously with the active or flexible side of said vessel; hence it will be perceived that the valve is operated I and opened by the expansive pressure oothe agency of a thumb-screw, whereby the rigid or unyielding side of the expansive vessel is varied in its distance from the yielding or'activeside, which is limited in one direction of movement by the contact of the valve upon its seat.

Thirdly, in the disposition of two deflectorplates forming a distributer, one of which is affixed upon and moves with the valve-rod, and the other is adj ustably secured to a fixed part of the apparatus. of the sprinkler may be made greater or less to suit the varying cireumstances as head or quantity of liquidrand thereby govern its dis tribution, while the direction and form of the liquid as it is ejected can be adjusted, respectively,by the difference in the size of the two and by their shape and flexibility, since they may be corrugated or bent to disperse and vary-the course of the liquid as it leaves the apparatus.

Thedrawings accompanying this specification represent in Figure 1 a vertical central section of a sprinkler embodying my invention in a closed or inactive position, while Fig. 2 is a similar section in an open position. Fig. 3 is a plan and Fig. 4 a detail view of a portion of the supporting-frame. Fig. 5 is a modified form of the flexible deflector-plate.

In said drawings, A represents a supplypipe leading from any suitable reservoir from which a continuous supply of liquid under pressure can be obtained. This pipe may be arranged within a room and provided with a series of sprinklers, after the manner now most generally approved. This sprinkler consists, primarily, in a circular casting or frame, B, composed of two sets of arms, a a b b, radially disposed one above the other and united by vertical pieces op. This frame contains the operative parts of the apparatus, and is relnovably j oined and secured to the supply pipe by a nipple or screw-threaded pipe, 0. The lower end of this pipe forms a seat for the valve D, to which is attached the valvestem d. The latter extends through the bore of the nipple 0, projects beyond a short distance, and is united and operates with the yielding side of an expansive vessel, E. This vessel is the active agent, through changes in the temperature surrounding it, by means of which the supply-valve is rendered active and open, or

Thus the discharge-orifice IOC inactive and closed, dependent upon circumstances, and is composed, preferably, of two circular disks, cf, bent and united to form a hollow closed vessel, which when completed is to contain some volatile fluid or gas. In the present instance this vessel. is secured within the frame B and attached to the arms a a by its upper disk, 6, only, which latter is made rigid and unyielding. The instrumcntality by which itis adj ustably secured to the frame consists in a screw-threaded stud, s, centrally located and forming part of said disk 6. This stud is rectangular at its base and engages in a similarly'shaped hole in the arms a a, moving therein as it is operated by the thumb-nut F. The lower yielding flexible disk or diaphragm, f, is centrally united to the upper end of the valve-stem d, as shown. This disk is constructed so as to have resilient action upon either side of a plane (see line 1 1) passheuce a pop action is insured and the valve is thrown its full extent of movement at one impulse. Such impulses are due either to expansion of the fluid within the vessel E, arising from the application of heat, or from vacuu1n-pressure induced by the cessation of such disturbing cause.

To efficiently disperse and spray the liquid emerging from the nipple 0 when the valve is open, I have arranged a compound distributer, G, which is composed of a deflectorplate, It, and a reflector-plate, t, both of which are preferably circular in form and located within the frame 13 below the expansive vessel E. These operating parts form a very important part of my apparatus, since the efliciency of the latter is materially affected by the manner in which the liquid is thrown and dispersed. Therefore I have affixed the upper or deflector plate, 71, firmly upon the valve-stem directly beneath the juncture of the latter with the yielding diskf. Furthermore, said plate is somewhat larger in diameter than the expansive vessel E, but smaller than the reflector-pl ate 1?, with which it co-operates. The latter is adjustably secured upon the nipple 0. Thus when actively employed the flow of liquid can be regulated by the adjustment of the lower plate, t, so the sprinkler may be set to discharge a large or small amount, dependent upon the headof liquid or the quantity required for the locality. Furth ermore, the shape of the spray can be changed by flexible edges and by modifying the contour of the disks, as by radial corrugations; or, as is shown in Fig. 5 of the drawings, radial slits or cuts extending a short distance into the body of the. plate maybe made, and since the metal composing them is to be very thin and flexible rapid vibrations are imparted to the lips t t by the passage of the escaping fluid, and the latter is more eflieiently dispersed. The aperture inthe arms a a is rectangular in shape, as shown. at in Fig. 4, in order to prevent rotation of the valve and valve-stem.

valve is always predetermined,also that of the flexible disk ffor afixed length of valve-stem; hence the upper stiff disk, 6, may be regulated in position by the movement of the thumbscrew F, and by causing the disks of to approach and contract the chamber in the ves sel E the latter will act more readily or at a lower temperature. Reverse adjustment would consequently cause opposite effects; hence the vessel would act less readily and a higher temperature be attained be fore activity of the sprinkler could be secured. The ri' gidity of the upper disk, e, increases the durability of the expansion-chamber, as the ad justing devices of course do not bend it, as they would a flexible disk, and a certain amount of strain is thus avoided. All parts of it are moved evenly together.

' The operation of this apparatus is as follows, presuming the parts are in their normal positions, with the valve closed, as shown in Fig. 1: With a sufficient increase in the temperature above the normal the volatile fluid or gas in the expansive vessel E is now expanded, with the result to actuate the yielding diskf. The latter, by a sudden resilient or pop action, moves to the position shown in Fig. 2, and carries Wit-h it the valve D, valve-stem d, and the deflector-disk 72, mounted thereon, The latter, from its proximity to the adj ustable reflector-disk t, is 110w in the required position to most effectively disperse the liquid emerging from the supply-pipe A by way of the nipple C. This activity of the sprinkler now continues so long as the thermostatic influences are such as to maintain the vessel E in an expanded state. When such cause ceases, the vacuum produced within said vessel oper ates upon the yielding disk f, and the latter retroaets with respect to the disk 0, thereby closing the valve tightly. As will be seen, the valve having opened, the water passes into the chamber formed by the reei n'oeating disk h, fixed to the valve-stein, and the disk t",

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adjustable upon the nozzle of the nipple O toward the former and co-operating disk. Their flexible edges, approximating when actively disposed, compress the liquid, which escapes in a thin sheet, which may be modified as required, to spread it in the space around.

There are several advantages attained in this sprinkler, prominent among which is this: The valve is always maintained closed by the agency of the expansive vessel when the latter is inactive; hence the liquid may be withdrawn from the supply-pipe, and upon refilling of the latter no danger ensues of flooding the apartment in which said sprinkler or sprinklers are located. Thus it will be seen that the apparatus is entirely automatic and adjustable to varying degrees of temperature,

which may or may not produce activity, such or any predetermined degree being regulated by the distance between the disks 0 f, not by varying the quality of the volatile liquid contained between them.

I am aware that sprinklers have been made in which an expansive vessel induced by thermal variations in the temperature has been employed to both open and close a valve, which is adapted to control a fluid-supply. This device I do not desire to claim, broadly; but

What I consideras my invention, and wish to secure by Letters Patent, is v 1. In an automatic sprinkler, the supplyvalve, its valve-rod, and the two co-operating deflector-plates, in combination with an expansive vessel, one side of which is attached to said valve-rod, for the purpose set forth.

2. The combination, with a supply-valve, its valve-stem, and the two oppositely-disposed deflector-plates, of the expansive fluidflexible distributing-plates h 2', arranged edge to edge at the mouth of said tube, one of said plates being adjustable on the latter to vary the distance between them, substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in 40 presence of two witnesses.

LAlVSO-N B. STONE.

\Vi tn esses:

H. E. LODGE, F. CURTIS. 

